Islands Investigations International Mystery Series
Always Love a Villain
(on San Juan Island)
A case of high-level plagiarism at a local university brings Noel Franklin and Kyra Rachel to San Juan Island to investigate. As they look into the theft, the two get to know the small island’s community. They soon become involved in investigating another, more menacing crime. The daughter of a professor engaged in highly sensitive research has been kidnapped. And her ransom is a piece of intellectual property that, in the wrong hands, could lead to catastrophe.
While Noel and Kyra navigate the murky waters of university politics and come closer to discovering the origins of the crime and its perpetrators, their lives are first threatened and then terrorized.
Never Hug a Mugger (on Quadra Island)
This time, Kyra Rachel and Noel Franklin are sleuthing around Quadra Island in the employ of Noel’s old high school buddy, Jason Cooper. In a quiet wooded area of the island, Jason, his wife and two younger boys are worried for the oldest son in the family. Derek was discovered badly beaten in the woods by Campbell River and has remained in a deep coma for three weeks. Desperate to find out what happened to his son and why, Jason hires Noel and Kyra.
As the two get to know the sleepy island community, they’re surprised to discover that Derek may have been in on a drug deal—but why? Others in the community describe him as a decent young man with a good head on his shoulders—what could have possibly pushed him to deal in drugs? Kyra and Noel aren’t even certain the drug deal is connected to the attack, so who would want to hurt this young man and why? Kyra and Noel are determined to find out what circumstances could have drawn this happy family into such dark territory.
Always Kiss the Corpse (on Whidbey Island)
Sandro Vasiliadis, a nurse at the Whidbey Island General Hospital, has died of an apparent heroin overdose. When his grieving mother bends over to kiss her son’s corpse at the viewing, she shrieks, “That’s not Sandro!” Convinced that her son must still be alive, Maria Vasiliadis hires Kyra Rachel and Noel Franklin to solve the mystery. With questions of foul play continuing to swirl around the death, the detectives’ inquiries lead them deeper into Sandro’s life and eventually to a medical clinic that specializes in transgendering.
The second in the Islands Investigations International Mystery series, Always Kiss the Corpse takes Kyra and Noel’s investigation from the rush of Seattle to the seeming peace of the San Juan Islands in this thrilling page-turner. It’s only once the detectives come to understand Sandro in life that they unlock the secret to his death.
Never Sleep With a Suspect (on Gabriola Island)
In this new mystery series set on the islands off the coast of British Columbia and Washington State, Noel Franklin and Kyra Rachel team up to form Islands Investigations International. Quickly they come to realize that some crimes respect no boundaries.
Their first job takes Noel and Kyra to Gabriola Island and the unsolved murder of an art gallery groundskeeper. The vicious rumours surrounding the case take several sinister turns, leading them into grave personal danger. As each investigator falls prey to those they need to trust, Kyra and Noel discover that even charming island communities can keep deadly secrets.
